Calling all young adults!  This month, all 32 Great River Regional Library (GRRL) branches will be offering opportunities for minors (ages 16 and under) with late fees to lower their fines by reading!  Read Down Your Fines Week will take place from October 13th through the 18th, concurrent with national Teen Read Week.  For every 15 minutes of reading the minor does at the library, $1 will be waived from their fines.  GRRL says, “in the case of very young children with fines on their cards, parents will be able to read down their child’s fines by reading to them in the library.”  The event applies to late fees, but not to lost or damaged materials.

The program is designed to get teens back into the library – library patron services specialist Beth Ringsmuth Stolpman says, “When teen are not allowed to check out materials they may feel unwelcome in our buildings.”  The first Read Down Your Fines Week was held in June of 2013, and the event was repeated again later that year.  GRRL reports that about 400 teens and children read their fines down to $0 in those two weeks, allowing them to check out materials again.  Click here for more information.